This summer, OMSI has hosted 32 bright high school students in our Rising Stars Program. Rising Stars provides volunteer opportunities for students ages 14-18 to gain valuable, hands-on experience working with museum visitors. During their 5-week session, Rising Stars attend a weekly class focusing on leadership and presentation skills, making science a hands-on topic, as well as professionalism and how to succeed in today's workplace.

When it come to busting up grease and dirt, few things work better than soap, thanks to the amazing structure of soap molecules! These molecules work by having two very different sides. One side is an oxygen (O) ion loosely hanging on to a sodium (Na) or potassium (K) ion. An ion is an electrically charged atom or group of atoms. Because this end is very similar to water molecules (H2O) it can mix well with water. The other end is a long chain of carbon and hydrocarbon (H) atoms linked together.

Last year I jumped at the chance to have a booth at the first ever Portland Mini Maker Faire at OMSI. Having just published a book earlier in the spring I knew the faire would be a great opportunity to demonstrate some of the crazy projects I’d come up with and sell the book itself. This was the first time I’d done a festival so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. OMSI held a couple planning meetings for us which really helped me wrap my head around the prep work.

While there’s plenty to see and do at the museum, there’s a lot that people don’t know and never see. Whether it’s a program you didn’t know existed or a fun piece of OMSI history, there are many stories to tell!